February 2, 2012

On February 1, 1979, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned to Iran after 14 years in exile, which had been imposed upon him by the U.S.-backed ruling Shah. When the Shah fled the country in January, 1979, Khomeini boarded a flight to Tehran. He was met at the airport by throngs of supporters, beginning his ultimately successful campaign to establish the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Yesterday, Iranian authorities re-enacted that moment, conveying a representation of the late Iranian supreme leader (Khomeini died in 1989) off a plane and past an honour guard at the Tehran Airport:

Sources:

Mehr News Agency

The Atlantic

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